Twist spindles



FRANZEN TWIST SPINDLES Jan. 2, 1968" Filed Dec. 12, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet l v lh enfor; I afifa%% United States Patent 3,360,916 TWIST SPINDLES Gustav Franzen, Neersen, Germany, assignor to Palitex Project-Company, G.m.b.H., Krefeld, Germany Filed Dec. 12, 1966, Ser. No. 600,987 Claims priority, application Germany, Dec. 11, 1965, P 38,330 5 Claims. (Cl. 57--58.49)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A multiple twist spindle, particularly a. double twist spindle, comprising a stationary bobbin carrier member detachable from a spindle rotor member, the improvement being that the bearing carried by one of the said members and cooperating with the journal of the other of said members comprises three rollers disposed at the corners of an equilateral triangle, the rollers preferably being tapered rollers co-operating with a tapered journal and arranged with their axes inclined to the axis of the spindle.

In twist spindles of such a kind it is a preferred practice to use magnets for keeping the bobbin carrier stationary' in relation to the other, rotating, part, that is to say to the wharve and the yarn plate which together form the spindle rotor. A special bearing permits this relative motion between the stationary bobbin carrier and the rotor to take place.

The stationary part must occasionally be detached from the rotating part and replaced, for instance for the purpose of cleaning the same. In the majority of spindles this is a d'ficult operation which demands considerable skill because the hollow shaft which is used for forming the bearing must be carefully inserted into precisely fitting ring roller bearings of which usually two are provided the one above the other. This requires a steady and expert hand.

Threading the yarn is likewise a tricky and time-consuming task since the yarn must be pushed through the hollow spindle shaft which at one point is divided, and then taken to the outside. It has therefore already been proposed to provide the bobbin carrier with a twin hearing with an externally coned seating surface for inserting the same into a correspondingly coned socket in the rotor. This arrangement simplifies the insertion and removal of the detachable bobbin carrier and, by providing a slit in the yarn plate extending as far as the socket, the yarn, after having been threaded through the hollow shaft of the bobbin carrier, an operation which is easy to perform, can be simply inserted in the rotor part by taking advantage of the presence of the slit.

This arrangement substantially overcomes the difficulties which are experienced in the majority of conventional spindles, but the drawback still remains that the seating surface in the socket and the bearing surface itself must always be kept meticulously clean since otherwise, particularly at the desired high speeds of revolution, the spindle will be out of balance and it will then cease to run smoothly.

-It is the object of the present invention to provide a spindle with a bearing in which this drawback is avoided. The problem is solved by providing three rollers at the corners of an equilateral triangle for the reception of the hollow shaft between them. Such a bearing which permits the stationary bobbin carrier to be removed in the simplest possible way is very advantageous. Since the bearing lacks seating surfaces that are in full contact but only surfaces that are in rolling contact are present, the shaft cannot be axially misaligned or otherwise imprecisely held, and

since all the parts are in relative motion the bearing is also self-cleaning. The bearing therefore permits the spindle to run smoothly at the highest possible speeds.

The rollers may be mounted in the spindle rotor in which case they will receive the bottom end of the hollow shaft of the bobbin carrier between them. Alternatively, the rollers may be disposed in the floor of the bobbin carrier, in which case the rollers will receive the upper end of the hollow shaft of the rotor between them. The rollers may be cylindrical. However, in a preferred form of construction the rollers may be tapered and their axes placed obliquely to the spindle axis. The tapering shape of the rollers facilitates the insertion of the hollow shaft and, compared with cylindrical rollers, the friction is also reduced because the provision of a shoulder on the hollow shaft is not required. Furthermore, axial ball bearings may be provided for cylindrical rollers to provide support without impairment of the advantages afforded by the proposed arrangement.

The proposed arrangement is particularly useful for spindles provided with a yarn plate that has a slit. In order to secure the advantages afforded by such a plate, the slit in the plate need merely be positioned to extend between two of the rollers mounted in the spindle rotor. Naturally the rollers must then be so spaced that the thread can be easily inserted between them.

Six dilferent embodiments exemplifying the invention are shown in the drawings, each figure in the drawings representing a vertical section of a double twist spindle according to the invention.

FIGS. l-6 show a vertical section of a double twist spindle according to the invention.

FIG. 3a is a view showing the spatial orientation of cylindrical rollers for supporting a hollow shaft of a double twist spindle.

In each illustrated embodiment the spindles comprise a stationary bobbin carrier member which is identified in the drawings by letter A. The bobbin carrier member can be taken off the spindle rotor member which is marked B.

The stationary bobbin carrier member A consists of a pot 1 containing the bobbin 2. The pot 1 and hence the bobbin 2 are kept stationary in conventional manner by magnets 3. 4 is the hollow shaft through which the thread 5 is withdrawn.

The rotor member B comprises a wharve 6 and a yarn drawoff plate 7. 8 is the yarn retaining disc which contains an outlet opening 9 through which the yarn runs from the hollow shaft 10.

In order to permit part A to be lifted off part B the invention provides a pick-01f bearing. In FIGURE 1 this consists of three cylindrical rollers 11 which are disposed at the corners of an equilateral triangle to co-operate with the upper journal end of the hollow shaft 10 on the rotor B. The rollers are mounted on the bobbin carrier, preferably in the floor of the pot 1. In order to ensure that the bobbin carrier is correctly positioned in the axial direction, the hollow shaft 10 is formed. with a shoulder at 12. Moreover, in order to facilitate fitting the two parts together the edges 13 of the cylindrical rollers 11 may be conveniently rounded.

The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 is based on a similar arrangement to that of FIG. 1, expecting that the rollers are not cylindrical but, as will be seen at 14, they are tapered. Accordingly, the upper journal end of the hollow shaft 10, as shown at 15, is likewise formed with a coned taper. This has the advantage that the provision of a shoulder 12 can be dispensed with and that the friction which otherwise arises at such a shoulder is eliminated. It is also simpler to fit the two parts together.

The embodiments according to FIGS. 3 and 4 differ from the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 in that the cylindrical rollers 11 (FIG. 3) and the taper rollers 14 in FIG. 4 are not mounted in the part A but in the rotor member B. Consequently the hollow shaft 4 is provided with a shoulder 12 in the embodiment containing cylindrical rollers 11 (FIG. 3), whereas it is conically tapered in the embodiment comprising the tapering rollers 14 (FIG. 4).

Moreover, in these two latter embodiments the yarn plate 7, as shown at 16, contains a slit. FIG. 3a illustrates the manner in which the three rollers 11 are disposed at the corners of a triangle and co-operate with the journal 10a of shaft 4. As will be clearly understood from the drawing, neighbouring rollers are so positioned that the slit 16 (Which is not visible in FIG. 3a) extends between two neighbouring rollers, thus permitting the thread to issue from the journal a and to pass between the rollers Without being obstructed thereby. The same applies in an arrangement comprising tapering rollers,14. It will be clear that in such an arrangement the thread can be threaded through the hollow shaft 4 and pulled out from below and that the bobbin carrier A thus prepared can then be mounted on the rotor part B without the necessity of further threading because the thread will automatically, insert itself into the gap between the two rollers by availing itself of the slit 16.

In the embodiments according to FIGS. 1 and 3 the hollow shaft 10 or the hollow shaft 4 is provided with a shoulder 12 for axially locating and supporting the carrier. Some friction will be generated at these shoulders but this can be eliminated by providing axial ball bearings in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 for supporting the carrier in an arrangement provided with cylindrical rollers.

In FIG. 5 this ball bearing 17 is located in the floor of the pot 1 and runs on a shoulder 18 on the hollow shaft 10.

In FIG. 6 the ball bearing 17 which is likewise located in the floor of the pot 1 co-operates with a flange 19 on the yarn plate 7 covering the cylindrical rollers 11. The illustrated embodiment has a yarn plate 7 with a slit and consequently the flange 19, as indicated at 20, is likewise formed with a slit extending the slit 16.

Should it be thought necessary to provide means to prevent the two parts A and B from becoming accidentally separated, conventional means for this purpose may be provided as commonly used on spindles for securing the rotating part.

What I claim is:

1. In a double or multiple twist spindle comprising a stationary bobbin carrier member and a rotor member, one of said members carrying a bearing and the other of said members a co-operating journal, the said bearing and journal being separable by withdrawing the said carrier member from the rotor member, the improvement wherein the said bearing is formed by three rollers disposed at the corners of an equilateral triangle.

2. A spindle according to claim 1, in which the said rollers are mounted in the rotor member, the said carrier member having a hollow shaft the lower end of which forms the said journal co-operating with the rollers.

3. A spindle according to claim 1, in which the said rollers mounted on the said bobbin carrier member and the said rotor member comprises a hollow shaft the upper end of which forms the said journal co-operating with the bearing.

4. A spindle according to claim 1, in which the said rollers are tapered and arranged with their axes inclined to the axis of the spindle.

5. A spindle according to claim 2 in which the said rotor member comprises a yarn plate having a slit extending between two of the said rollers mounted in the rotor member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,587,758 3/1952 Finet et al 5758.49 XR 2,652,295 9/1953 Wollin 308162 XR 2,671,702 3/1954 Meadows 308-156 3,153,314 10/1964 Hammond 308 XR 3,159,962 12/1964 Franzen 57-58.49 3,279,162 10/1966 Keyser 5758.49 3,298,757 1/1967 Schmid 308156 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 631,452 11/ 1949 Great Britain.

FRANK J. COHEN, Primary Examiner.

D. WATKINS, Assistant Examiner. 

